Histories of the Planes

A treatise by Thiek the Wise concerning time and space.

 Histories of the Planes
A supplement for Shadowdark RPG by Keith Spears.

Histories of the Planes © 2023 Keith Spears.

All art is public domain and resourced from

Wikimedia Commons.

Histories of the Planes is an independent

product published under the Shadowdark
RPG Third-Party License and is not
affiliated with The Arcane Library, LLC.
Shadowdark RPG © 2023 The Arcane
Library, LLC.

Sholik,
nes we could
wh at we ’ve found so far . I’m certain there are more pla
This is to them.
ch , bu t we ne ed mo re tim e to identify them and travel
rea
s they won the bet.
Tell that apprentice of your

As always, Random Plane Tables

Thiek
2d6 Random Plane 2d6 Dangerous Plane

2 Reroll on the Dangerous Plane Table 2 The Flame

3-4 Telenevaria’s Third Prophecy 3 The Flood

5-6 Coldblood 4-5 The Mountains of Night

7-9 Barbaria 6-8 The Apocalypse of Thin Jonas

10-11 Arcadia 9-10 The Blight

12 The Bright 11-12 The Void

 Concerning Time and Space
the Bright and the Blight – the wizard lives in
The Rivers of Time both, but died here.

There are many timelines, but not too many, The very first timeline split occurred in the
and not for the reasons you may think. inconceivable past, before the stars were born,
and that timeline is filled only with darkness,
Despite the arguments of Archmage Wigner, ever-shifting shapes, and incomprehensible
a new timeline doesn’t branch off at every minds. Some say that is the universe’s true
possible decision point or random event. path while ours is the aberration.
Potential alternative outcomes are
immediately absorbed into the timeline as Modern arcane theory refers to these
nonevents. Timelines are quite stable even timelines as planes, functionally separate
under extreme circumstances, though places which can be visited with the right
powerful forces may shift them a bit. Think of magics, but it is important and sometimes
a timeline like a river: the splash of a stone vital to remember that they all began as one.
falling into the current doesn’t alter the river’s
course, and even building a dam doesn’t
change where the river ends up once it Time Travel
escapes. There is, for all mundane purposes,
only one timeline, only one history, only one
We can travel through time, but only forward.
universe.
The great deities have the power to go against
the flow of time, but they have tried and
If mundane powers were all that existed, that
failed to change the past. If a god expends the
would be that.
extraordinary power required to visit the past
and change the course of history, the result is
A vast amount of supernatural power – the
a new branch of time, a new plane, where
equivalent of an earthquake or a volcano to
those events unfolded to whatever end. There
the river – is capable of bending a timeline
is no change in the original plane. To the best
into a new direction, a wildly different future
of our research, this has only occurred once.
from where it was originally headed. Under
But see the later notes on the Godswar.
some conditions, however, the timeline breaks
instead, and two very different rivers proceed
We think
it involves from that point on, never again to meet.
Planar Travel
unresolvable
paradoxes. Given the requirements of cosmic power and The most useful and reliable form of travel is
exacting circumstances, very few alternate the Plane Shift spell, but only for return visits
timelines exist. Most major deities have a to a known location due to the wildly
timeline where they preside as the only deity, unpredictable results otherwise.
and some believe these all came about
simultaneously as a result of an event called Equally reliable but less convenient are the
the Godswar. One wizard’s generation- stable planar portals connecting our Home
spanning machinations to kill death created Plane to a specific other plane. These are
 occasionally found in ancient ruins and other your Arcadian tuning fork, you’ll have a lovely
Created long-forgotten places. Sadly, the method of unobstructed view of the pristine harbor as
with a Gate their construction has yet to be uncovered. you plummet down 180 feet to the forest floor.
spell? No
priest we’ve
All else is legend. There are stories of Planes which branched off long ago have very
found will
admit to it.
sphinxes who would open a gate in return for different histories. Buildings, cities, and even
favors or riddles, magical tablecloths that act empires may or may not exist. The shape of
as random portals, and tuning forks that could the world changes as well, albeit slowly, so
shift a linked group of people to a specific while the mountains are likely still in their
plane when struck, but we have yet to verify usual places, don't expect every forest path to
any of these methods ourselves. be the same.

We can, however, personally confirm that In some extreme cases, the geography of the
when a powerful spell is miscast it can rip world no longer applies. Some kind of
open an unstable portal to a random plane. Do. relationship still exists, as a gate will always
Not.
We do not recommend the experience. connect to the same point on both sides even
Ask.
if those sides bear no resemblance to each
other. Perhaps for related reasons, planar
Perils and Profits travel will never result in material
juxtaposition. We’ve found no evidence of
travelers embedded in stone, arriving inside
Without question, the most important fact
other creatures, or emerging with a flagpole
about the other planes is that they were once
sticking through them, so let those thoughts
connected to our Home Plane, and they exist
comfort you if you arrive somewhere
in parallel with regard to both time and space.
underwater or in the middle of a raging fire.
Most planar travel (with some notable
exceptions such as the Plane Shift spell) will
Priests are especially warned that even though
bring the user to the exact same place and
the deities transcend planes – The Huntress
time in the new plane. If you stand at the
always recognizes her worshippers – the
summit of Mount Kirst during a lunar eclipse
deities do not exist on every plane, and some
and enter the plane of Arcadia (perhaps with
planes seem to have no deities at all. Priestly
the aid of your magical Arcadian tuning fork), ever?
magics cannot be relied on where the Can they
you will arrive at the summit of Mount Kirst
worshipped deity is absent. Contact your local
during the lunar eclipse.
temple before making planar travel plans.
The second-most important fact about the
other planes is that even though they exist in
parallel, their histories are often very
different. If you stand on the top floor
of the Obsidian Temple in Port
Sarajoh and enter a gate to the
Apocalypse, you will arrive where
ns
the top floor of the Obsidian
x p lai
Temple in Port Sarajoh used to be se
t thi n the st of
and then plummet down 180 feet to tha ee re
e a rs betw of the it.
the rubble below. If you instead use sw ips ne of
d ral ionsh s. No sense
Ven relat lane any
p
the own ake
kn can m
us
 The Known Planes
Classifications Barbaria

Planes fall into two broad categories. Time of Branching: Early history, before the rise
Habitable planes are well disposed to the of the Serpent Kingdoms.
survival of civilized cultures and are
frequently a home to them. Dangerous planes History: The land, sea, and sky conspire with
contain hostile environments, threatening the native flora and fauna to stifle the growth
inhabitants, and occasionally instant death. of any kind of civilization. There are humans,
“Habitable” does not necessarily mean “safe.” elves, dwarves, and serpent folk aplenty, but
they remain separated as small isolated tribes.
There are no cities, no great temples, no vast
The Home Plane
underground halls. Many widely-known
deities are conspicuously absent. Most of the
We refer to our own plane as the Home
tribes are far too concerned with base survival
Plane. All other known planes share branch
to fight each other.
points with the Home Plane. There are
“We” refer undoubtedly remote planes which have
to it as the branched directly off of other planes, but we Dangers: Beasts of the wild are more devious,
Home Plane cannot reach those planes from Home. more deadly, and more dedicated to holding
because m y their ground against two-legged or serpentine
much better invaders. The plants will strangle and devour
names were you given half a chance. Even lightning
ignored. Habitable Planes strikes seem suspiciously well-aimed.

Arcadia Benefits: If you need to recruit warriors, the

mightiest of them are found here.
Time of Branching: Prehistory, before the
appearance of civilization. The Bright

History: Arcadia is nature untouched and Time of Branching: About 350 years ago.
unspoiled. There is no civilization here, only Aren’t we
animals and rare magical creatures walk the History: A half-mad wizard obsessed with all though?
pristine forests and swim the crystal seas, immortality decided to kill Death. Centuries
observed by the occasional druid. If any deity of arcane machinations resulted in a kind of
watches over Arcadia, it remains hidden. success, and two new planes erupted into
existence: The Bright and the Blight.
Dangers: We do not know what happens to
those who attempt to hunt or harvest here, we In the Bright, there is no death, only
only know they fail. transformation. Natural growth expands in
abundance, filling the world with enormous
Benefits: Legend holds that druids can attain trees, endless vines, and gigantic mushrooms.
immortality in Arcadia, but they do not share Structures of dead wood and stone stood no
those secrets with the uninitiated. chance and were completely overgrown.
Dangers: Like the other inhabitants, travelers The Deific Planes
who remain in the Bright too long are apt to
begin transforming into something Time of Branching: Prehistory.
otherworldly involving scales, feathers, or fins.
History: Most greater deities and a few lesser
Benefits: You cannot die here, though you deities preside over a plane where they are, in
might wish you had depending on the nature fact, the only deity. This also includes several
of the transformations which take you. Elves deities no one has ever heard of, which has
adapt to the Bright quickly and easily and do resulted in much speculation about the nature
not suffer random transformations. There are of divine beings and the extent of their
several established elven enclaves. Some powers. Each plane is shaped by its ruler
underground pools are rumored to have (presumably its creator) to their own
extraordinary healing properties. preferences, so they vary wildly. Some
resemble the Home Plane with differences
Coldblood that are primarily social, while others are
filled with temples the size of cities or simple
Time of Branching: The slave revolution at the fields and farmland.
height of power of the Serpent Kingdoms.
The mastery of these gods over their personal
History: The slave revolt that should have realms is enough to bar random intrusions, so
resulted in the first human strongholds failed. no travelers will find themselves in such a
The Serpent Kingdoms only grew more place unexpectedly. In fact, some of these
powerful, until eventually not even the gods planes are virtually inaccessible.
could stand against them. The warmblood
folk are merely slaves or food, and the The Deific Planes all branched off at
Ophidian Aeons oversee all. approximately the same time, a period of
uncivilized prehistory when the world was
Dangers: Lizardfolk, viperians, nagas, giant well-populated but language had yet to
serpents, dinosaurs, enormous crocodiles, and appear. Some scholars believe this
a convocation of aggressively hostile snake synchronized timing was a result of an event
gods are waiting to devour you. They have known as the Godswar, when the deities of all
taken no interest in other planes yet, and it is times battled for supremacy and, in a way,
best for us all that they never do. they each won.

Benefits: Coldblood is one of the few reliable Given the difficulty in reaching some of these
places to find a living dinosaur if you happen planes and the dangers of annoying divine
to need one. The Ophidian Empire that arose beings possessing cosmic power, we have
,
from the Serpent Kingdoms pushed beyond refrained from further exploration. We’re wizards
the furthest known limits of celestial lore and we’re not stupid.
astronomical calculation, but that knowledge Dangers: The dangers of the Deific Planes
is jealously guarded. The complex spells of change from ruler to ruler and are difficult to
the ascended viperian sorcerers are extremely categorize. In general, they are best avoided.
potent but known only to a handful of living
and undead monarchs. Benefits: Priests and devout followers may find
We should probably be preparing for the respite and a welcome home in the plane
inevitable attack of snakes on a plane. ruled by the divine being they worship.
Telenevaria's Third Prophecy Dangerous Planes
Time of Branching: Four years ago. The Apocalypse of Thin Jonas
History: The Prophecy of Telenevaria never
Time of Branching: 43 years ago.
appears in the Home Plane, but those familiar
with it say that it is much like the Prophecy of
History: The apocalyptic writings of Thin
Televendria, which was fulfilled 866 years ago
Jonas are well known to keepers of arcane
with the creation of The Jade Citadel.
lore as the Prophecy That Failed. Everyone
Telenevaria, however, prophesied the
agrees that the foretold signs came to pass,
absorption of the entire universe into the
everyone old enough can remember the moon
Void within a span of two decades.
that night, but the world failed to end.
Scholars shrugged and life went on.
Extensive research reveals that the Prophecy
of Telenevaria has arisen at least twice before,
The world ended in the Apocalypse.
each time causing the sudden creation of a
new plane. Telenevaria’s First Prophecy was
The stars went dark. The moon crumbled,
documented by planar travelers roughly 1500
and the silvery dust of its remains circles the
years ago. Telenavaria’s Second Prophecy was
world in brilliant rings. At sunset, staring at
confirmed by a solitary wizard 700 years ago.
the sun reveals it has a broadly human face
The planes of the First and Second
that shifts between frenzy and mourning, and
Prophecies can no longer be found, having
it always appears to be speaking only to you.
presumably been absorbed into the Void.
They each existed for less than 20 years.
Every living being went violently mad. Cities
are rubble, towns and villages are burned out
We have no record explaining who or what
shells, and the skeletons of the dead lie
Telenevaria was or is.
everywhere that was once civilized.
Dangers: One might expect the entire plane to
Dangers: Sun Hunters, angelic beings 30’ tall
be absorbed into the Void within the next 16
with the face of the sun (not a metaphor) soar
years or so. Other than the prophecy, it
above the wasteland on unknowable errands
appears identical to the Home Plane.
of violence and despair.
Someone transported here unwittingly may
not notice anything out of place aside from
Do not look at the sun. Do not attempt to
the existence of their planar twin. No one
understand what the sun is saying.
knows anything further, and there is little time
to find out.
Benefits: The undead cannot exist here.
Whether newly animated or arriving through
Benefits: There are many resources that could
a poor choice of travel plans, all undead are
be recovered from the presumably doomed
immediately consumed by the sun. Some
plane, but not knowing exactly how or when
reports describe this as an explosion of light
the prophecy is fulfilled makes the attempt
leaving only sooty dust, others describe this as
more than risky.
undead creatures flying into the sky to be
literally eaten by the sun. Eyewitnesses in the
It may be possible to avert the prophecy, but
Apocalypse are unreliable at best.
one would need to be present to do so.
The Blight
Dangers: Travelers usually arrive underwater.
Time of Branching: About 350 years ago. Portals have a slow leak.

History: When the Bright sprang into being, so Benefits: There’s an empire of merfolk here if
did its dark shadow, the Blight. Like the you can find them and speak Merran.
Bright, there is no death here, precisely, but
rot and decay never cease. All living creatures The Mountains of Night
wither – some quickly, some slowly – to
become shambling abominations, mockeries Time of Branching: Prehistory.
of their former life. The crumbling ruins of
civilization cover the world, filled with History: There is no world, only mountain-
mindless horrors. sized rocks floating through endless night in a
ring around the sun. Travelers always arrive
Dangers: The undead are everywhere, and life on the surface of one of these mountains.
saps out quickly. Wounds do not heal here.
Dangers: If you need air to breath, you have a
Benefits: If you need raw materials for your very short time in which to find it or leave.
necromantic rituals, this is where to find
them. There are rumors of sinister cabals Benefits: Some of the mountains appear to
meeting in ruined towers, but only the foolish have entrances leading within, but these have
or the desperate would seek them out. not yet been explored.
n.
Ask for Hestru
The Flame The Void

Time of Branching: Undetermined. Time of Branching: Before time began.

History: Portals to the Flame collapse and are History: In the Void, the stars never came to
destroyed instantly. Everything within a near be. The universe is a dark and endless
sphere is completely vaporized, including miasma, home to amorphous beings with
stone, buildings, and unfortunate bystanders. alien minds and unknowable motivations. It is
neither hot nor cold. It is both silent and
Dangers: Travel to the Flame results in instant unbearably loud. It is not meant for us.
annihilation. Immunity to fire does not help.
Dangers: There are no immediate dangers
Benefits: It's better to burn out than fade away. from the environment, but sooner or later the
traveler will come to the attention of
The Flood something indescribably wrong. Horror and
madness ensue.
Time of Branching: Prehistory.
Benefits: A traveler can float in the Void
History: Water covers all but the highest without physical ill effect for as long as
mountain peaks, and the ruins of an desired. Time seems to pass differently here,
unknown civilization are scattered across the but without a meaningful point of reference
ocean floor. Only sea creatures remain. it’s impossible to define how. It’s not as relaxing
as it sounds.